I saw a neat piece on the work being done on the Reactor in Japan.

What is going on is a little crazy.  The pictures look like something from a science fiction movie, not something from real life.  Of course, I bet everyone in Japan wishes it were only fiction.

Is it insensitive to say that trying to save a nuclear reactor complex would make for a good game?  There was a good game for the Commodore 64, Countdown to Shutdown.  In the game, it was robots trying to fix the nuclear reactor, not people.  Again, I'm sure the people working the plant wish this were only a game...

Last week, my wife told me about the Fukushima Fifty.  She told me that they stayed on a voluntary basis and she couldn't understand why, knowing the risk (or certainty) of radiation poisoning they would face.  I can understand why--it is a sacrifice they make.  If there isn't someone to work the plant, things could get much worse for the rest of the Japanese people.  My wife wondered how they could do it if they had families at home.  I can understand her point--it is one thing to sacrifice one's life, but it probably adds to the sacrifice to know that you will leave behind a widow or children who will grow up without a father.  I would guess they have to put that out of their mind.  I don't really know. 

I would be curious to hear what soldiers with families who have been deployed would say along those lines.  This is, after all, a fairly common sacrifice made by our own soldiers, still today.

I also wonder how I would respond if given the opportunity.  There is a nagging feeling that if tested, I would turn out to be a coward.  I don't know.  I wouldn't want to be a coward, but mostly I'm just glad I've never had to face something like this.